Abstract
The mechanical behaviors of methane hydrate-bearing sands (MHBS) are largely affected by the presence of methane hydrate, temperature, and pore pressure. In this study, we present a simple hypoplastic model for MHBS. Methane hydrate saturation is included as a state parameter affecting the mechanical behaviors of MHBS. A new phase parameter is introduced to account for the coupled effects of temperature and pore pressure on the mechanical behaviors of MHBS. The phase parameter can be determined by a simple function of temperature and pore pressure. Comparison of the predictions with experiments shows that the model is able to capture the salient behaviors of MHBS.
Highlights
Methane hydrate (MH) is a crystalline clathrate composed of methane and water molecules
Based on Eqs. (10) and (13), we proposed the following functions to account for the effects of MH saturation and phase state on the critical state line (CSL) of methane hydrate-bearing sands (MHBS): ecrt = eΓ(MH,L0 ) − λln(p0 /pa )
The model is validated with experimental results of MHBS obtained under a wide range of stress level, void ratios, hydrate saturation, temperature, and pore pressure
Summary
Methane hydrate (MH) is a crystalline clathrate composed of methane and water molecules. It is widely distributed beneath permafrost and in marine continental margin sediments. MHs primarily exist in the forms of discrete nodules or veins in fine-grained sediments or disseminate in the pore spaces of coarse sands. November 13, 2019 attractive for MH exploitation due to the high-permeability of sand media and the high-concentration of MHs [2, 3]. The exploitation of MH may destabilize methane hydrate-bearing sands (MHBS) and potentially lead to the unsteady deformation of seabed [4], in-stability of production well [5], and even marine landslides [6]. It is crucial to properly characterize the mechanical behaviors of MHBS for MH exploitation
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